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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2007‒10‒20
eight papers chosen by Emanuele Canegrati Catholic University of the Sacred Heart |
| By: | Å. Gornitzka, P. Maassen, J. P. Olsen,; B. Stensaker |
| Keywords: | Europeanization; Europeanization; knowledge; institutionalism; institutionalisation; political science; integration theory |
| Date: | 2007–02–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:arenax:p0233&r=knm |
| By: | Carlos J Ponce |
| Date: | 2007–10–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cla:levarc:122247000000001600&r=knm |
| By: | Christian R. Østergaard |
| Abstract: | Knowledge spillovers from a university to the local industry play an important role in clusters, but we know little about these spillovers. This paper examines empirically the extent of university-industry informal contacts. Furthermore, it analyses the characteristics of an engineer that acquire knowledge from informal contacts with university researchers. The university-industry contacts are compared with results for interfirm contacts. The research shows that the interfirm informal contacts are more numerous than university informal contacts. Likewise, knowledge is more frequently acquired from other firms than through university-industry contacts. Engineers that have participated in formal projects with university researchers and engineers that are educated at the university have a higher likelihood of acquiring knowledge from informal contacts with university researchers. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge flows; informal contacts |
| JEL: | D83 O32 I23 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:07-19&r=knm |
| By: | Maarten van Rooij; Annamaria Lusardi; Rob Alessie |
| Abstract: | Individuals are increasingly put in charge of their financial security after retirement. Moreover, the supply of complex financial products has increased considerably over the years. However, we still have little or no information about whether individuals have the financial knowledge and skills to navigate this new financial environment. To better understand financial literacy and its relation to financial decision-making, we have devised two special modules for the DNB Household Survey. We have designed questions to measure numeracy and basic knowledge related to the working of inflation and interest rates, as well as questions to measure more advanced financial knowledge related to financial market instruments (stocks, bonds, and mutual funds). We evaluate the importance of financial literacy by studying its relation to the stock market: Are more financially knowledgeable individuals more likely to hold stocks? To assess the direction of causality, we make use of questions measuring financial knowledge before investing in the stock market. We find that, while the understanding of basic economic concepts related to inflation and interest rate compounding is far from perfect, it outperforms the limited knowledge of stocks and bonds, the concept of risk diversification, and the working of financial markets. We also find that the measurement of financial literacy is very sensitive to the wording of survey questions. This provides additional evidence for limited financial knowledge. Finally, we report evidence of an independent effect of financial literacy on stock market participation: Those who have low financial literacy are significantly less likely to invest in stocks. |
| Keywords: | Portfolio Choice, Knowledge of Economics and Finance, Financial Sophistication |
| JEL: | D91 G11 D80 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:use:tkiwps:0723&r=knm |
| By: | Mueller, Normann |
| Abstract: | This article critically evaluates the current state of research on education externalities. It occurs that much of the confusion regarding their magnitude results from conceptual misunderstandings pertaining to their nature. The essay distinguishes the concepts education, teaching, and knowledge. Whereas pure teaching yields externalities on the primary and secondary level, only the generation of knowledge may produce the spillovers which are typically linked to the tertiary level. The accumulation of education itself does not have such an effect. Education is argued to be a private good with well defined property rights. Individuals may exploit those and provide the production sector with the efficient amount of human capital. Following this rationale, it is demonstrated that empirical studies, contrasting estimations of private and social returns to education, are unsuitable to substantiate the existence of externalities. As a consequence, subsidies to tertiary programs are called into question. |
| Keywords: | Public education finance; Education expenditures; Human capital externalities; Property rights; Endogenous economic growth; Private return; Social return; Public goods |
| JEL: | I22 H23 D62 |
| Date: | 2007–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:5331&r=knm |
| By: | Gossner, Oliver (Paris School of Economics); Tsakas, Elias (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | We study whether rational information processing is testable. Our main result shows that, under positive conditions, negative introspection holds if and only if it holds for primitive propositions. In particular, it is sufficient to test negative introspection on primitive propositions.<p> |
| Keywords: | Partitional possibility correspondence; negative introspection; primitive propositions |
| JEL: | D80 D83 D89 |
| Date: | 2007–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0275&r=knm |
| By: | Huang, Can (UNU-MERIT); Soete, Luc (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses some of the challenges confronting the European Union and China as they build their knowledge economies, and their on-going and possible future actions to address such challenges. Fifty years after the creation of what became the European Union, we argue that there is an urgent need to develop a new European Lisbon Agenda, preparing the EU for globalization. A new and "outward-looking" Lisbon strategy would focus on three key areas: international trade in services, internationalization of research networking, and access to brains and talent. The paper shows that the success of the Chinese economy over the past three decades can be partially attributed to its ability to absorb globally advanced technology and huge flows of foreign investment, its large pool of knowledge and talent, and its enactment of a policy framework that provides incentives to domestic and foreign firms to innovate - a strategy very much reminiscent of Europe's own internal Lisbon agenda. To move further, China needs to overcome the obstacles of regional disparities, transform its industry and deepen industry-academy linkages, which are also unavoidable tasks for the sustainable development of Europe. We contend that the scope for comparative studies of the EU and China, for mutual learning from each other's experience - even for joint initiatives - is substantial. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge Economy, Industry-University Partnerships, Globalization, Internationalization, Highly Skilled Migration, European Union, China |
| JEL: | F02 F16 F22 L80 O32 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unumer:2007028&r=knm |
| By: | Charles Bellemare; Luc Bissonnette; Sabine Kroger |
| Abstract: | We use spline interpolation to approximate the subjective cumulative distribution function of an economic agent over the future realization of a continuous (possibly censored) random variable. The method proposed exploits information collected using a small number of probability questions on expectations and requires a weak prior knowledge of the shape of the underlying distribution. We find that eliciting 4 or 5 points on the cumulative distribution function of an agent is sufficient to accurately approximate a wide variety of underlying distributions. We show that estimated moments of general functions of the random variable can be computed analytically and/or using standard simulation techniques. We illustrate the usefulness of the method by estimating a simple model to asses the impact of expectations on investment decisions in a commonly used trust game. |
| Keywords: | Approximation of subjective expectations, spline interpolation, decision making under uncertainty |
| JEL: | Z13 C90 C10 D39 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:lacicr:0734&r=knm |